Bob Carlson offers his expert opinion on where to invest your money so that you can get through retirement safely and securely
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Bank failures are in the headlines again. Tighter Federal Reserve monetary policy or an approaching recession almost always lead to more bank failures. To avoid being caught in a failure, of course do what you can to avoid a high-risk bank or financial services company. But banks and other financial services firms carry risks that […]
A turn in the economy in early 2023 disrupted the plans of many investors and the Federal Reserve. As 2022 ended, investors were poised for inflation to hit the Fed’s 2% target without a recession and for the Fed to shift to an easy money policy by the second half of 2023. But the economy […]
The markets are ignoring one of the prime investment rules: Don’t fight the Fed. Federal Reserve officials say they will have to maintain tight monetary policy considerably longer to bring inflation to the 2% target, even after the historically aggressive rate increases of 2022. Markets seem to disagree, while anticipating what some call a soft […]

Significant changes in retirement planning were made in the last days of 2022 with the enactment of the 4,155-page Consolidated Appropriations Act (CCA). Most of the CCA appropriates an estimated $1.7 trillion to various government departments. But Division T of the CCA is the SECURE Act 2.0, a 358-page compilation of more than 100 provisions […]
In my new Retirement Watch Spotlight Series, I’ll share my newest breakthrough strategies for protecting your assets and growing your portfolio, including how to prepare for the next market downturn. Click here now to learn more.
In the next few months, we’ll learn how well household spending and corporate earnings hold up following the most aggressive monetary tightening in 50 years. The Federal Reserve had to tighten monetary policy more in 2022 than it and most investors expected. Higher household wealth and a very tight labor market fueled consumer spending and […]
For the past 40 years, a series of positive trends made the investing environment very favorable for retirees and those planning for retirement. Most of those trends have peaked or are reversing. Plus, other trends that won’t be beneficial for retirees and pre-retirees are emerging. We’re at a turning point for retirement planning. Those who […]
What will the Federal Reserve do when infla- tion drops to between 4% and 5%? That’s the key question for the first half of 2023. In 2022, the Fed tightened monetary policy faster than any time since at least 1980. It will tighten more in early 2023, but at a little slower pace than in […]
The economy and markets took many people by surprise in 2022. In the latest Retirement Watch Spotlight Series, I review what happened and discuss what I think is likely to occur in the first half of 2023. I show you the current readings from my early recession warning indicators, explain in detail where I think […]
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